U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,300, issued Jun. 2, 1992, discloses in FIGS. 14-16 a connector assembly for interconnecting a daughter board and a mother board. This connector assembly includes an elastomeric contact element of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,413, issued Oct. 12, 1976, and sold under the trademark AMPLIFLEX by AMP Incorporated of Harrisburg, Pa., for incorporating a circuit with active elements in the paths between the daughter board and the mother board. The contents of U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,300 and the contents of U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,413 are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
As disclosed in the '300 patent, the active element circuit is mounted on a board secured to the connector assembly by an overlying spring clip which is removably clampable around opposed sides of the connector assembly housing. While effective for its intended purpose, the spring clip is relatively difficult to manipulate when a circuit board is installed to, and/or removed from, the connector assembly. In addition, the spring clip is a relatively expensive item.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a board retainer system for an active electrical connector which is easier to utilize and is less costly than the spring clip of the '300 patent.